Gator Baseball keeps rolling with another gritty win to make it seven in a row

Two weeks ago, when Florida Baseball was swept by Vanderbilt, we noted that the bottom had fallen out, and no one was coming to save the Gators. At the heart of the issue for Florida was that beyond looking overmatched against any pitcher capable of throwing 92+, we noted the baseball IQ just wasn't good enough to keep pace in the SEC.

There are still small things to nitpick, and Florida will still need to prove it can hang with a top-ten opponent, but for now, the Gators have all the good vibes and all the momentum after beating Mississippi State 11-8 to win its 7th game in a row.

Florida Baseball stays hot, again

Aidan King didn't have his best stuff, and the bottom for King fell out in the 5th inning. By the time his day was done, he only lasted 4.1 innings and was tagged for six runs off seven hits and a walk.

Florida was able to scrape out some runs to keep contact, but much like on Friday night, they went into the back half of the game trailing. The squad we watched through the first four SEC series would probably have been ready to roll over and head back to the hotel but in the 7th inning the Gators pieced together another rally to storm back and take a 9-6 lead.

Blake Cyr's run off a wild pitch, which ended up being the game-winning run, is emblematic of the baseball IQ the Gators simply didn't have earlier in the year. On a 50/50 wild pitch that wasn't a clear moment to try for home, Cyr read it perfectly and took advantage to bolt from 3rd to home.

Cyr capped his 7th inning when Mississippi State attempted to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th with a perfect strike from right field to home to gun down the runner, which again is the type of play Florida wasn't making earlier this year.

Jake Clemente had a three-inning save, which, not to sound like a broken record, but is also the kind of thing Florida wasn't getting during their losing skid.

Florida is now 6-11 in SEC play and 27-14 overall. They are up to 17th in RPI, and so while most seem to think Florida will need to reach 12 SEC wins to get an at-large bid, there is an argument to be made that if Florida can even win five more SEC games of their remaining 13 SEC games that their resume will be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament.

Florida will go for the sweep against Mississippi State today at 3 PM on ESPN 2.